Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born 1 February, 1969 in Reconquista, Santa Fe Province of Argentina) is a world-famous ex-footballer. He played most of his club football at Fiorentina. He is also the highest scorer of Argentina's national team.

The Player

The beginning

As a child he preferred other sports. Due to his height he played basketball, but after Argentina's victory in the 1978 World Cup, in which he was particularly impressed by the skills of Mario Kempes, he devoted himself to football. After playing with friends on the streets and in the small Grupo Alegria club, he joined the local Platense junior team.

Related Topics:
Basketball - 1978 World Cup - Mario Kempes

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While with Platense he was selected for the Reconquista team with which he won the provincial championship against Newell's Old Boys from Rosario, also in Santa Fe Province. His 2 goals called their attention, and he signed for them in 1988.

Related Topics:
Newell's Old Boys - Rosario - Santa Fe Province - 1988

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Professional

He therefore joined the professional football club of Newell's Old Boys Club, whose coach was Marcelo Bielsa, who was later also his coach in the National Team.

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Things didn't come easy for him during the first year. He was away from home, his family and his girlfriend Irina, sleeping in a room in the stadium, and had a weight problem that slowed him down. At the end of that year he was lent to the smaller team Deportivo Italiano, of Buenos Aires, with whom he participated in the Carnevale Cup in Italy, ending as top scorer with 3 goals.

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At mid-1989 he made a jump to one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate, where he scored 17 goals, but in mid-season coach Daniel Passarella (with whom he had later confrontation as they met in the national team) dropped him from the team.

Related Topics:
1989 - River Plate - Daniel Passarella

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In 1990 Batistuta signed for the other biggest Argentinean team, Boca Juniors, who he was already keen on. Having gone so long without playing he again found it hard to find his best form. At the begging of 1991 Oscar Tabárez became Boca's coach, and gave Batistuta support and confidence to become top scorer of that season, winning the local championship.

Related Topics:
1990 - Boca Juniors - 1991 - Oscar Tabárez

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International

Also in 1991, Batistuta was also selected to play for Argentina in the Copa América held in Chile, where he was again both champion and top scorer with 6 goals.

Related Topics:
Copa América - Chile

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It was during that competition that the vice-president of Fiorentina got the chance to see Gabriel's qualities, and signed him right away. Unhappily, Fiorentina were relegated at the end of that season to the Serie B (second division), in spite of Batistuta's 13 goals. After two years, with 16 goals of Batistuta's and under the coaching of Claudio Ranieri, Fiorentina returned to the Serie A.

Related Topics:
Serie B - Claudio Ranieri - Serie A

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In 1993 Batistuta played his second Copa América, this time in Ecuador, which Argentina again won. The 1994 World Cup, held in the USA, was a disappointment: after a very promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the quarter-final stage, the morale of the team seriously affected by Diego Maradona's drug-abuse suspension.

Related Topics:
1993 - Copa América - Ecuador - 1994 World Cup - USA - Romania - Diego Maradona

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On his return to Fiorentina Batistuta showed his best football, becoming 1994-1995 top scorer with 26 goals and breaking Ezio Pascutti's 30 year old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995-1996 season Fiorentina won the Italian Cup and Super Coppa.

Related Topics:
Ezio Pascutti - Italian Cup

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During the qualification matches for the 1998 World Cup, with Passarella now coaching the Argentinean team, Batistuta was left out for most of the games. Finally playing at the World Cup finals, he scored 5 goals in that competition, before Argentina lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands.

Related Topics:
1998 World Cup - Netherlands

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After yet another failure to win a championship of importance, Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. But, partly in an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and promised to do everything to gain a scudetto local championship. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him off the field for more than a month. Losing momentum and their star striker, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in the third position, which at least gave them the chance to participate in the Champions League.

Related Topics:
Giovanni Trapattoni - Champions League

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Good-bye to Fiorentina

Again, Batistuta was held for the 1999-2000 season by the chance of winning both the Scudetto and the Champions League. But, not fulfilling his dream, he decided to move to A.S. Roma in a transfer worth 30 million US dollars.

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In spite of a knee injury that kept him out for a few matches, he scored 20 goals for A.S. Roma and finally realized his dream: the Italian first division Scudetto. It was also the first championship won by Roma since 1983.

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After an incredible performance by the Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 World Cup, undefeated for almost 2 years, Batistuta planned to quit the National Team by the end of the tournament, and certainly hoped to do it holding the Trophy. But Argentina's "group of death" proved to be so, as with results 1-0, 0-1 and 1-1 against Nigeria, England and Sweden the team had to go home before the second round for the first time since 1962.

Related Topics:
2002 World Cup - Nigeria - England - Sweden - 1962

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In 2004, he was named to the FIFA 100 list of 125 Greatest Living Footballers.

Related Topics:
2004 - FIFA 100

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Back to Italy, Batistuta failed to find form with Roma and was loaned out to Internazionale, where he failed to make any impression. He ended his career playing in Qatar for Al-Arabi before retiring in March 2005 after a series of injuries that forbid him to play in the last season.

Related Topics:
Italy - Internazionale - Qatar - Al-Arabi - March 2005

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Summary

• Physical data: Height 1.85 m, weight 73 kg
• First professional match: September 25, 1988. San Martín (Tucumán) 1 - Newell's Old Boys 0
• First professional goal: May 16, 1989. Newell's Old Boys 3 - Platense 0.
• First National Team match: March 27, 1991. Brazil 0 - Argentina 1.
• First National Team goal: July 8, 1991. Argentina 3 - Venezuela 0.
• Last National Team match: June 12, 2002. Argentina 1 - Sweden 1.
• Last National Team goal: June 2, 2002. Argentina 1 - Nigeria 0.
• 78 National Team matches with 56 goals.
• First Division (Serie A) Italian Championship (with A.S. Roma) 2000-2001.
• Italian Supercup with (with A.S. Roma) 2001
• Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year 1998.
• Italian League Cup (with ACF Fiorentina) 1995-1996.
• Second Division (Serie B) Italian Championship (with Fiorentina) 1993-1994.
• First Division Top Scorer, 26 goals (with Fiorentina) 1994-1995
• Copa América (with Argentina) 1991, 1993
• Copa América Top Scorer, 6 goals (with Argentina) 1991